How to DINE like the MAD MEN

Do I even need to remind you that AMC's Mad Men is coming back this Sunday? The 17-month hiatus has been a too-long separation from one of my favorite shows. The decor! The wardrobes! The stories! The...food?

Actually, yes. My inner anthropologist loves seeing what Betty serves for a party or what Don orders for lunch. Is there ever a bad time for deviled eggs and rumaki? I should think not, and happily, Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin agree.

Their nearly 300 page volume The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook is part recipe book, part social history, part city guide, and all delicious nostalgia from a time when it was de rigueur to use the good silver on a regular basis.

Recipes reference both Mad Men episodes (Pete's California Dip from "Red in the Face") and mid-century hotspots where the Sterling Cooper crew might have dined (21 Club Vodka Gimlet).

Interspersed throughout the book is commentary on 1960s life plus dialog from the show. I was particularly amused by Betty's dilemma on how to dress up celery sticks without using capers. They get might get stuck in the carpet, you know. Try this recipe for your Mad Men viewing party, or any time you feel like inviting the friends over for cocktails. Just don't forget to polish the silver!

Betty’s Stuffed Celery

adapted from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook (Hearst, 1963)

3 ounces soft cream cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
8 chopped stuffed olives
10 minced blanched almonds
4 long, wide crisp celery stalks

1. Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, olives and almonds in a small bowl.
2.  Stuff celery stalks with filling. Chill well. Cut into bite-size pieces, or 2-3 inch pieces before serving.
Yield:  About 8 servings
Reprinted with permission: The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin (Smart Pop, 2011)
Photo Credit: 30aeats

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